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Download AudioThe Chief Children’s Commissioner, Claire Achmad says the latest Child Poverty in New Zealand shows positive long term trends which needs to be sustained.
The report from the Ministry of Social Development covers the measures of material hardship set out in the 2018 Child Poverty Reduction Act
That includes things like having fresh fruit and vegetables, a separate bed to sleep in, a waterproof coat, warm clothes and shoes.
The report shows about one in eight children are in material hardship, and in the case of children in single parent families it’s almost one in three.
Dr Achmad says too many children are still being shut out of basic childhood experiences.
“All the evidence shows – and I’ve heard this from mokopuna and whanau who I hear from directly – it’s really hard to thrive when you’re poor and the fact is that no mokopuna should be shut out of the basics of life here in Aotearoa new Zealand, so this data shows what we need to work at actively to change,” she says.
Dr Achmad says she’s concerned at things like changes to the Ka Ora Ka Ako school lunch programme, because the report shows the importance to learning of having adequate nutritious kai.
The report is here: https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/research/child-poverty-in-nz/index.html
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